Interior Designer Faces Jail Time For Organizing Long Island Show House

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LAUREL HOLLOW, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) Designer show houses are popularin wealthy suburbs and often draw thousands of visitors. But the village of Laurel Hollow says the attractions are illegal and has put an interior decorator on trial.

As CBS 2s Carolyn Gusoff reported, designer Claudia Dowling is charged with operating a commercial business in a residential neighborhood.

Dowling organized a designer show house at a historic Gold Coast mansion last year. Twenty-five decoratorstransformed rooms into showcases of their work, donating a quarter-million dollars in renovations to a homeowner trying to sell the house in exchange for public exposure of their crafts. Brochures were printed, and theshow house was set to open to the public on Labor Day 2013 before the village shut it down.

I thought I had the go-ahead, said designer Claudia Dowling. I certainly wouldnt spendall that time and money and other designerstime and money if I didnt think I had the go-ahead.

I didnt go out to harm anything.

Howard Avrutine, Laurel Hollow village attorney, said the law has to be enforced to protect neighbors.

Its no different than if I had a retail store, he said. Instead of selling shirts, Im selling my services.

If you lived next door to this home, would you want to see business activity going on on a daily basis for an eight-week period with vehicles coming in and out? Avrutine said.

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Interior Designer Faces Jail Time For Organizing Long Island Show House